ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Tourism
Union Tourism Ministry participates in FITUR; FITUR is one of the world’s largest international travel exhibitions at Madrid
Ministry of Tourism, Government of India is participating in FITUR from 18th to 22nd January in Madrid which is one of the world’s largest international travel exhibitions. India’s participation at FITUR is significant to step up the recovery of inbound tourism to pre-pandemic levels.
Ministry of Tourism has taken a space of 253 sq. mtr., with over 30 participants co-exhibiting with the India Pavilion to participate in the Exhibition. The India Pavilion was graced by the presence the King and Queen of Spain, and was formally inaugurated by His Excellency, Mr. Dinesh K. Patnaik, Indian Ambassador to Spain; Mr. Mohammed Riyas, Minister of Tourism, Kerala, and Mr. Rakesh Kumar Verma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. Inauguration of India Pavilion was done with Ribbon Cutting followed by Indian cultural performances and Yoga sessions.
After the inauguration, the Indian delegation and participants went around the India Pavilion and booths of various participating states and tour operators, participation was coordinated by Services Export Promotion Council . During the day, Incredible India organized various Culture Performances, Yoga Sessions, Mehndi and Bollywood Dance Performances.
The Indian Delegation led by Mr. Rakesh Kumar Verma, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Tourism participated in key business meetings with senior leadership from Melia Hotels International, Palladium Hotel Group, Expedia Group, World Travel and Tourism Council , Cushman & Wakefield, and the Indo-Spanish Chambers of Commerce. These meetings facilitated by the dedicated Industry Development & Investment Promotion  Division at the Ministry of Tourism managed by Invest India, had discussions around investment opportunities in the Indian tourism & hospitality sector. The leadership from these organizations were also formally invited to participate in the 1st Global Tourism Investors’ Summit being organized by the Ministry of Tourism between 10th – 12th April, 2023 in New Delhi on lines of India’s G20 Presidency.
Cabinet
Cabinet approves extension of Rebate in Taxes on Export of Garments and Made-ups
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for continuation of Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies  from 1st April, 2020 onward until such time that the scheme is merged with Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products .
RoSCTL scheme for apparel and made-ups will be continued with effect from 1st April, 2020 without any change in scheme guidelines and rates as notified by Ministry of Textiles till such time that the RoSCTL is merged with RoDTEP.
Continuation of RoSCTL beyond 31st March, 2020 is expected to make the textile sector competitive by rebating all taxes/levies which are currently not being rebated under any other mechanism.
Vice President's Secretariat
Vice President Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu to lead two-day National Consultation on Farm Sector issues
Union Minister for Agriculture, Shri Radhamohan Singh, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, MP Shri Sharad Pawar, Prof. M.S. Swaminathn, experts and other stakeholders to attend brain storming in Pune
The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu will inaugurate and participate in a two-day National Consultation on ‘Making Agriculture Sustainable and Profitable’, at Pune, Maharashtra tomorrow. This Consultation is organized in the context of the ongoing debate and efforts at various levels to double farmers’ incomes by 2022.
The two day brain storming on various issues relating to farm sector will be attended by the Union Minister for Agriculture, Shri Radhamohan Singh, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, former Union Minister for Agriculture and senior Parliamentarian, Shri Sharad Pawar, former Agriculture Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Shri V. Sobhanadreeswara Rao, veteran Farm Scientist, Prof. M.S. Swaminathan, renowned farm sector expert and economist, Prof. Ashok Gulati, senior officials of Central Government agencies like ICAR, farm scientists, representatives of Farmers Unions, CII, FICCI, NAFED and other stakeholders.
The two-day Consultation is being organised by the Indian Institute of Public Administration  of which the Vice President of India is the Chairman and Shri Vaikuntha Mehta National Institute of Cooperative Management, Pune.
The two-day Consultation will focus on six themes viz. Creating an enabling policy framework; Intensification of farming diversification to high value agriculture and supplementation of incomes through allied activities; Marketing and Agri-logistics; Agricultural Trade Policy; Transfer of technology from labs to the land and Agricultural credit and insurance.
The concept paper for the National Consultation prepared by IIPA refers to the felt need and an opportunity to reorient governance and further improve policy and programmes to transform farmers’ lives. The two day deliberations will result in practical recommendations to fine tune existing policies and programmes to enhance farmers’ incomes. They will also focus on the inherent biases in the existing policy framework and suggest a way forward to make it more balanced. Policy interventions required to enable farmers move towards green and sustainable agricultural practices and also to address the paradox of rising foodgrain production and per capita incomes co-existing with increasing number of malnourished children are also on the agenda.
The concluding session will be presided over by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Shri Radhamohan Singh.
The National Consultation on farm sector issues is the second in the ‘Swarajya to Surajya’ series of National Consultations initiated by the IIPA at the behest of the Vice President, Shri Venkaiah Naidu. The first one on ‘Strengthening of Local Self Governments’ was held in Marczh this year in Hyderabad.
Ministry of Coal
Import of Low –ash- Coal
Demand of coal is higher than the current level of domestic supply of coal in the country. The entire demand of coal is not met from domestic production as the supply of high quality coal /coking coal  in the country is limited and thus no option is left but to resort to import of coking coal. Further, coal imported by power plants designed on imported coal and high grade coal required for blending purposes cannot be substituted by domestic coal.
As per the current import policy, coal is kept under Open General License  and consumers are free to import coal from the source of their choice as per their contractual prices on payment of applicable duty. Taxing of coal imports by Indonesia is an internal matter of that country and the Government of India does not interfere in such matter.
Coal India Limited  is supplying coal to its linked Plants under a long term bi-lateral Fuel Supply Agreement  in accordance with Annual Contracted Quantity  and their requirements including the plants based in Tamil Nadu. In the current year, CIL has supplied coal to the tune of 15.08 Million tonnes to the power plants based in Tamil Nadu upto November’21, registering a growth of about 50%, in comparison to last year same period figures of 10.09 MT.
Further, in order to maximize coal supply to the thermal power plants of TANGEDCO from its nearest sources, recently CIL has rationalized linkage quantity of 1.825 Mill Te. from ECL to MCL. This will help TANGEDCO to augment coal dispatch from domestic sources. Singareni Collieries Co. Ltd.  has also supply 5.913 MTPA of coal to NCTPS & USTPS of TANGEDCO for their upcoming units under long term linkage.
Elevenwasheries are being set up with total capacity of 40 MTY by CIL. Out of this, 10 washeries are for Coking Coal totaling throughput capacity of 30 MTY in 2 phases. 1 washery is being set up for beneficiating non-coking coal, with capacity 10 MTY. In SCCL, one non coking coal washery with 1.0 MTPA operational capacity is working on BOO  basis.
This information was given by the Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pralhad Joshi in a written reply in RajyaSabha today.
Ministry of Electronics & IT
Inauguration of Product Design Centre and Launch of Grain-Ex system for appearance based e-Quality detection system developed under MeitY supported projects
Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology  Additional Secretary Shri Bhuvnesh Kumar has inaugurated Product Design Centre , set up at Centre for Development of Advanced Computing , Kolkata. The centre has prototyping and system designing facilities equipped with all the software and printing technologies for system designing, prototyping, ideation and fabrication.
This facility will be beneficial to startups, enterpreneurs and MSME’s of the eastern region of the country. An appearance based detection system i.e., Grain-Ex through machine vision technology for pulses developed under ‘National programme on Electronics and ICT applications in Agriculture and Environment ’ alongwith ICAR-IARI, New Delhi was also launched on this occasion. The appearance based e-Quality detection system for 14 types of pulses , would bring about a transformative change in the e-NAM markets for quality based pricing. This will be helpful for more than 1,200 e-NAM connected markets.
The inauguration and launch was done in the presence of Smt Sunita Verma, Group Coordinator, MeitY; Shri Aditya Kumar Sinha, Director, C-DAC, Kolkata; Dr Om Krishan Singh, Scientist ‘D’, MeitY; other industry partners, project team members and other respected dignitaries representing various users and line ministry.
RKJ/DK
(Visitor Counter : 1456
Election Commission
10th National Voters’ Day to be celebrated on 25th January 2020
Theme for NVD 2020 is ‘Electoral Literacy for Stronger Democracy’
Hon’ble President of India Sh. Ram Nath Kovind will be the Chief Guest at the 10th National Voters' Day being organized by Election Commission of India on 25th January 2020 at Manekshaw Centre, Delhi Cantt. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Law and Justice, Communications and Electronics and Information Technology shall also grace the national function. This year marks an important milestone in the history of Indian democracy as Election Commission of India  completes 70 years of its journey.
The National Voters’ Day  has been celebrated on January 25 every year since 2011, all across the country at over ten lakh locations across the nation, that include polling stations areas, sub divisions, divisions, district and state headquarters, to mark the Foundation day of Election Commission of India, which was established on 25th January 1950.The main purpose of the NVD celebration is to encourage, facilitate and maximize the enrolment, especially for the new voters. Dedicated to the voters of the country, the Day is utilized to spread awareness among voters for promoting informed participation in the electoral process. New Voters are felicitated and handed over their Elector Photo Identity Card in the NVD function.
Belief in the Ballot-2, an anthology of 101 human stories from across the nation about Indian elections, developed in collaboration with the Publication Division will be launched on the occasion and the first copy shall be presented by the Commission to the Hon’ble President.
'The Centenarian Voters: Sentinels of Democracy' with 51 stories of veteran voters across the nation who braved difficult terrain, poor health and other challenges to come out and vote will be launched on the occasion by the Hon'ble President.
The National Awards for the Best Electoral Practices shall be conferred on District and State level Officers for their outstanding performance in the conduct of elections in different spheres such as IT initiatives, Security Management, Election Management and contribution in the field of voter awareness and outreach.
Chief Election Commissioners and delegates from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal, Srilanka and Tunisia, who are coming to New Delhi to attend the 10th Annual Meeting of the Forum of the Election Management Bodies of South Asia , shall grace the occasion. Reputed international organisations working in elections such as A-WEB, IFES and International IDEA will also be a part of the occasion. Members of Political Parties, Members of Parliament besides Diplomats from various countries and representatives from national and international organizations working in the area of democracy and elections are expected to attend the national function.
The theme for NVD 2020 is ‘Electoral Literacy for Stronger Democracy’. The theme sets the tone for year-long activities which focus on voter education and renewal of citizens’ faith in the electoral process.
SBS/MR/AC
(Visitor Counter : 2743
Ministry of Finance
Credit to MSMEs
The Government of India have received complaints / representations from time to time from Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises  regarding constraints in accessing credit from institutional sources. These inter-alia, indicate, insistence on collateral, delayed sanctioning of credit, sanction of lower loan amount as against the required amount and charging of higher rate of interest etc. Reserve Bank of India  and the Government have taken several steps to ensure access of credit to MSMEs, which inter-alia include, advice to all Scheduled Commercial Banks  to achieve a 20% year-on-year growth in credit to Micro and Small Enterprises , allocation of 60% of the MSEs advances to the Micro Enterprise Accounts, a 10% Annual Growth in number of Micro Enterprise Accounts, additional working capital limit to meet the requirements arising due to unforeseen/seasonal increase in demand, adoption of one cluster, operationalising at least one specialised MSME Branch in every district, simplified computation of Working Capital of MSE units to make it minimum 20% of the Projected Annual Turnover of the unit for borrowablelimits up to Rs.5 crore, setting-up of Trade Receivables Discounting System  to solve the problem of delayed payment of MSMEs, etc.
Details of outstanding credit to MSMEs by Scheduled Commercial Banks  during the last three years in the States of Gujarat and Jharkhand is as under:
Amount disbursed in Rs. in crore; No. of a/c in lakh
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Name of State
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During 2015-16
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During 2016-17
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During 2017-18
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No. of a/cs
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Amount
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No. of a/cs
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Amount
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No. of a/cs
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Amount
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Gujarat
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4.81
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55,333.58
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4.41
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55,244.83
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4.19
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60,152.79
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Jharkhand
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2.74
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10,704.09
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2.36
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8,192.32
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2.42
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10,896.97
Source : RBI
RBI has deregulated the interest rate on advances and these interest rates are determined by banks with the approval of their respective Board of Directors subject to extant guidelines. Loans to MSMEs are provided as per the interest rate structure of the bank. The interest rate is finalized based on various factors which inter-alia include, cost of funds to the institution, credit rating of the unit, tenure of loan, purpose of loan etc.
This was stated by the Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply to a Parliament Question in Rajya Sabha today.
Prime Minister's Office
PM in Rameswaram
Inaugurates Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam memorial
Flags off Kalam Sandesh Vahini
Launches train from Rameswaram to Ayodhya, and other development projects
Addresses Public Meeting
(The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today inaugurated the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam memorial at Rameswaram. He unveiled a statue of Dr. Kalam, and offered floral tributes at Kalam Sthal. The Prime Minister also briefly interacted with the family members of Dr. Kalam.
The Prime Minister flagged off the Kalam Sandesh Vahini, an exhibition bus which shall travel across various States of the country and reach Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on October 15, which marks the birth anniversary of the former President.
At a large public meeting, the Prime Minister distributed sanction letters to select beneficiaries of Long Line Trawlers under the Blue Revolution Scheme.
He flagged off a new Express train from Rameswaram to Ayodhya - named Shraddha Setu - via video conference. He released the synopsis of the Green Rameswaram Project; and unveiled a plaque to mark the dedication to the nation of a 9.5 km Link Road on NH-87, between Mukundarayar Chathiram, and Arichalmunai.
Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said Rameswaram has been a beacon of spirituality for the entire nation; and is now also known as the place closely associated with Dr. Kalam. He said Dr. Kalam reflected the simplicity, depth and calmness of Rameswaram.
The memorial for Dr. Kalam showcases his life and times in a remarkable manner, the Prime Minister said.
Paying rich tributes to Dr. J. Jayalalithaa, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, the Prime Minister said she is a leader we all remember. He added that she would have been very happy and would have extended her good wishes.
The Prime Minister said a transformation in the ports and logistics sectors can contribute immensely to India's growth. He mentioned that there is a healthy competition among States as far as the Swachh Bharat Mission is concerned.
The Prime Minister said Dr. Kalam inspired the youth of India. He said that today's youth wants to scale heights of progress, and become job creators.
Ministry of Law and Justice
Press Communique
In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, the President of India, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, vide notifications dated 02.09.2023, is pleased to appoint the following as Judges / Additional Judges of High Courts:
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1
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Shri Sibo Sankar Mishra, Advocate
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Appointed as Judge, Orissa High Court
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2
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Shri Ananda Chandra Behera, JO
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Appointed as Judge, Orissa High Court
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3
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Shri Budi Habung, JO
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Appointed as an Additional Judge, Gauhati High Court
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4
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Smt. Justice C. S. Sudha, Additional Judge, Kerala High Court
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Appointed as a Judge, Kerala High Court
PIB Headquarters
Release of Special Cover, Cancellation and Pack on theme ‘Gandhiji’s visit to Tamil Nadu
Department of Posts has been organizing various activities to mark the 150thAnniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The celebrations started with release of a set of seven Circular Postage Stamps on 2nd October 2018. Around 25 countries across the globe have also released Stamps to commemorate the 150th Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.
Gandhiji had visited Tamil Nadu many times between 1896 and 1946. His first footprint was set in Tamil Nadu when he visited Chennai during April 1896. Further, he had visited Tarangambadi , Tiruchirappali , Madurai , Kanniyakumari , Rajapalayam , Tirupur , Coimbatore , Udagamandalam , Salem  and Chennai as a part of some historic events of his life.
Tamil Nadu Postal Circle is pleased to highlight the importance of the historic visits of Gandhiji by releasing the Interlinked Carried Special Covers and Special Cancellations at 11 different places between 26.07.2019 and 02.08.2019, as a part of Mahatma’s 150th anniversary celebrations.
The significance of these Special covers is that they are made of handmade papers and are getting carried to the subsequent places of release by Shri K. Mohan, Chairman, Gandhi Study Centre, Chennai.
The themes, dates and places of release of the Special Covers and Special Cancellations are given below:
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Place of Release of
Special Cover
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Theme
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Date
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Place visited by
Gandhijiduring
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Chennai GPO 600001
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Gandhiji’s First Footprint in TamilNadu
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26.07.2019
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Apr 1896
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Tarangambadi 609313
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Sharing the Joy of Suffering
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27.07.2019
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Apr 1915
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Tiruchirappalli 620001
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Communal Harmony
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27.07.2019
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Mar 1919
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Madurai 625001
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Identification with Poor - Half-naked fakir
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28.07.2019
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Sep 1921
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Kanniyakumari 629702
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Social Harmony
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29.07.2019
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Mar 1925
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Rajapalayam 626117
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Khadi -Simplicity and Swadeshi
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29.07.2019
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Oct 1927
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Tirupur 641601
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Gandhi and Tirupur Kumaran
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30.07.2019
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Feb 1934
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Coimbatore 641001
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Employment for All
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30.07.2019
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Feb 1934
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Udagamandalam 643001
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Removal of Untouchability
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31.07.2019
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Feb 1934
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Salem 636001
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Women Empowerment
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01.08.2019
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Feb 1934
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Anna Road 600002
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Gandhiji’s Constructive Programme
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02.08.2019
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Feb 1946
The last Special Cover, out of this set, was released today  to commemorate ‘Gandhiji’sConstructive Programme’by Smt. J. Charukesi, Post Master General , Tamil Nadu Circle, at Anna Road HPO.Dr. S. Pandian, President, Thakkar BapaVidyalayaSamithi, received the same. Shri A. Govindarajan, and Shri H.R. Veerana Goud, Directors of Postal Services were present.
The journey of the carried Special Covers commencedon 26.07.2019, and after completion of the journey, an Interlinked Carried Special Cover packon theme ‘Gandhiji’s visit to Tamil Nadu’was also released which will contain all the 11 Special Covers released at different places on different themes as listed above.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Update on Aspirational District Program in targeted districts
Aspirational Districts have shown improvement with respect to the Health and Nutrition indicators
NITI Aayog implements the Aspirational District  Programme for improvement of socio-economic indicators in the selected districts. Aspirational Districts in general have shown improvement with respect to the Health and Nutrition indicators. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare  supports all States/UTs in implementation of various schemes/initiatives for improvement of healthcare facilities under National Health Mission  based on the Annual Program Implementation Plan  submitted by States/ UTs.
As informed by the NITI Ayog, the main strategy of the AD program is based on convergence of existing schemes, which have their own funding arrangement. In order to foster competitive spirit and for addressing the critical gaps, additional allocation via challenge route is provided by NITI Aayog. Every month, districts are assessed on the basis of monthly progress and the best performing Districts in overall terms and in each of the five sectors identified. The first and second rankers in overall terms are awarded Rs. 10 crores and Rs. 5 crores respectively. The first ranker from each of the five sectors taken up in ADs including Health & Nutrition sector is awarded Rs. 3 crores each. Health and Nutrition is assigned major weightage of 30% in selection of Aspirational Districts in the country.
The Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Bharati Pravin Pawar stated this in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Road Transport & Highways
Shri Nitin Gadkari chairs a meeting with Karnataka Chief Minister, Shri Basavaraj Bommai
Aiming towards solving traffic congestion problems in Bengaluru, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari chaired a meeting with Karnataka Chief Minister Shri Basavaraj Bommai today. They brainstormed over the ideas suggested by Professional Agencies.
Shri Nitin Gadkari directed the State Officials to submit proposals regarding demands/works related to NHAI and also assured full support of MoRTH to the state.
The Minister also suggested about exploring options to create Bus-Ports, Inter-Modal Stations and Parking Plazas to solve traffic woes.
MoS General  V.K. Singh, State Transport Minister Shri B. Sriramulu, State PWD Minister Shri C.C. Patil, State MPs P.C. Mohan & Tejasvi Surya and Central & State Officials were also present in the meeting.